I was born in Tokyo, the child of ex-pat American parents, and lived in Japan until I was ten years old. Those early years, in a fascinating country, absorbing a beautiful language, engulfed in a wonderful, intriguing culture made me realize that I loved the idea of working, communicating, and contributing to different cultures and countries.
I was lucky enough, as my first foreign assignment, to land a position in IBM France stationed in Paris. I had the pleasure of running advertising for IBM’s ThinkPad brand across Europe, Middle East and Africa. This was my first professional assignment abroad which taught me so much – starting with – the center of the universe isn’t actually New York City – go figure!
That was 25 years ago. I have since served as Vice President of Marketing responsible for IBM’s Growth Markets based in Shanghai, China. I was CMO for the UK and Ireland recognized for building IBM’s first Net Promoter Score program. And I was privileged to return to the place of my birth as CMO of IBM Japan, truly coming full circle.
After a fulfilling run at IBM, I left to join Kyndryl, as Vice President of Brand and Content. I appreciate the fact that every day I work in a fast-paced, start-up environment that requires quick and decisive action. I thrive under those conditions.
In this role, I led a team which built a brand from scratch – activating all touch points from advertising, office branding, sponsorship, social – building a merchandise program and more. I also have the responsibility and pleasure of building a content engine and thought leadership program – again from scratch. No easy feat, especially for a 90,000 person, $18B start-up like Kyndryl.
Today, I lead the global marketing function at Kyndryl focusing on our go-to-market teams and Account Based Marketing. It is my privilege to work with the Chief Marketing Officers [CMOs] of all of our teams in country to create new relationships, articulate Kyndryl’s relevance to our customers and help grow our business.
As an active Non-Executive board director of Access Intelligence Plc., a British social SaaS company based in London, I’m able to help guide the team in their
go- to-market efforts as they expand globally.
I am a graduate and US Alumni council chair for The Marketing Academy Fellowship program, which inspires sitting CMOs grow as leaders and to take their rightful place in the seat of a board, as a Non-Executive Director or as a CEO.
What am I proud of? I’m a builder of global teams that deliver, and have been an incubator of businesses within large enterprises. One of my craziest achievements was leading a team of IBM Japan employees in the “largest clapping ensemble” to Queen’s “We Will Rock You,” which made it in the Guinness Book of World Records! And close to my heart [and palate] is my partnership and investment in Hall, a winery in Napa Valley, CA.
